Libertarian Party endorses Huguenot resident for Congress

It looks like it won't be Powers versus Powers for Congress after all.

Fran Powers' bid to run against his father, Frank, was short-circuited last night after members of the Libertarian Party endorsed Huguenot resident Susan Overeem, 26, to replace GOP Rep. Vito Fossella in Congress.

Fran Powers, 47, a Clifton resident who fronts the borough band Box of Crayons and whose potential candidacy versus his father, rock-and-roll lifestyle and 1980s-style haircut caused an Internet sensation on the Island, could not be reached for comment.

It is not known if he will try to find another way into the race.

Libertarian Party members held their convention at the Ukrainian East Village Restaurant in Lower Manhattan.

The vote was 17-6 in Ms. Overeem's favor, according to Islander Steve Isler, a former borough Independence Party chairman who attended the convention as an observer. He said two members voted for "none of the above."

"It wasn't a surprise to me," Ms. Overeem said of the result. "I uphold the ideals of the Libertarian Party. I'm inflexible on them, almost, the ideas of limited government to protect the individual."

She said she in particular supports home-schooling and the right of parents to refuse immunizations for their children.

She said the fact that she'd been seeking the Libertarian endorsement in the race longer than Powers had likely factored into the party's decision. Ms. Overeem last week left her job as a receptionist at WABC Radio.

Isler said both candidates gave speeches of between five and 10 minutes, followed by a short question-and-answer period, before the vote.

"Powers gave what appeared to be a well-received speech, so I was quite surprised by the lopsided vote," Isler said in an e-mail sent to the Advance. "My guess is that Overeem seemed more in line with the traditional party doctrine while Powers came at it from a more practical angle."

Isler said it was his impression that the party members "didn't fully appreciate the unique circumstances of a son running for Congress against his father, or they just didn't care."

The Libertarians don't have an Island chapter. The Manhattan organization controls the endorsement in the congressional race.

Frank Powers, the Island GOP designee in the congressional race and a Todt Hill resident, declined to comment.